The Back Story of Iraq’s Debt Restructuring

Iraq after Saddam Hussein had massive, patently unpayable debts. Creditors viewed Iraqi oil exports as a valuable potential source of recovery and were chomping at the bit to get paid. Yet in the end, there were few successful creditor lawsuits and the haircuts imposed in the restructuring were among the most brutal in sovereign debt history. How did this happen? Our guest is economic historian Simon Hinrichsen, who draws on his wonderful recent research to answer our questions.

Producer: Leanna Doty